it will be gone by this evening. in the baltimore area, we are talking about the potential for slick spots. we do have a winter weather advisory covering most of the state. it is a winter storm warning. cold, dry snow. temperature's only in the teens. dwi marshall, only 19 degrees. it is that dry, powdery snow. that light blue is a dusting to 1 inch. the darker blue, two or 3 inches. anyone around here knows the friday rush-hour can be tough. at the snow, and it's only worse. let's check in with george. george, it is cold, slippery, and a friday evening. all that cannot be good. >> as you said it, tom, snowplows the friday commute does not mean good news and that

is the way now. we have been out here for several hours. be snow continues to fall at a pretty good clip. here we are on i-83. on the left of your screen, i-83 north, and you can see that traffic is moving, but not very quickly. that is the combination of the snow and the friday afternoon commute. the state highway patrol is salting the roads as we speak. it is a rainy day. /on the shoulders. the state has about 1800 pieces of equipment on the road. -- slush on the shoulders. 1 driver had this to say a little bit ago about his experience on the roads. >> some of the drivers are -- they are driving like it is not so on the road, like they are

speeding and being idiots. >> they should not be idiots. >> no, they should not be idiots. >> good advice right now. i can say that. is the salting operation in the baltimore area. it is more of a plowing operation in western maryland. i am told the frederick area. carol, frederick, garrett, a washington counties -- carroll. wherever you are, the friday commute started early and is likely to end late. wbal tv-11 news. >> thank you, george, thank you. there were reports that a child fell through ice. skycam 11 rushed to the scene. here is what we learned. kids were seen walking on the

ice. anyone nearby it like we saw a flurry of activity. no one was hurt and it was a false alarm. you can see updated school and government closings on our website and our mobile app. you can also get alerts on your phone and e-mail. go to wbaltv.com and click. weather. >> thousands were late getting to work this morning. mta officials till 11 news that power lines became entangled with part of a commuter train on the 10 line. the lines began to sag. that is why subsequent trains were halted and that interrupted several thousand passengers. customers could be dealing with residual delays. new at this hour -- possible refunds for any drivers ticketed by the baltimore speech camera

or read like camera programs. according to city transportation officials, they are looking at a large sample of tickets to determine if refunds are in order. we have also learned that the city is working on a plan that may find the vendor for the erroneous tickets. officials have also said that the warning signs were too small and too close to targeted areas. a shooting near the light rail. we're working to confirm details of this hour. we know one man has been shot and transported to shock trauma. it happened at the 400 block of richly road. eyewitnesses' occurred multiple gunshots. >> prosecutors revealed a surprise witness in the phylicia barnes murder case as the trial of michael johnson got under way at baltimore circuit court. the man said that he saw the

16-year-old's body the day she disappeared. jayne miller is downtown with the latest. >> the witness could be the so- called smoking gun in this case, but defense lawyers say he is nothing more than aligning a jailhouse snitch. >> he said that he actually saw the body upper phylicia barnes on the day she disappeared. the witness is described of -- as an acquaintance got michael johnson, the man accused of killing phylicia barnes. he says that there was a body on the bed, prosecutors told jurors, the body of phylicia barnes. it may be the strongest evidence the prosecutors have to link johnson to her death, but the defense say that the witness did not come forward until june of this year. do witness is a jailhouse snitch, a lawyer who does not

know anything about this case, the defense lawyers say. the prosecutors paint johnson as an unfaithful boyfriend of barnes' sister. defense lawyers say there's no evidence to link johnson to any foul play. "this case is not about promiscuity. this is about the tragic loss of . young woman's life and the state's," they are geared "rushed to justice." she says that he is not the first person suspected of doing harm to her sister. >> thank you. a school teacher accused of raping a student will stay in jail for the rest of his life. that this late breaking news

from the state attorney's office. the court of appeals has ruled in favor of the state of maryland in the case. he has been serving four life sentences. that sentence was challenged because his lawyer at the time did not tell him about a proposed plea deal. and his conviction will stand. >> meanwhile, a small victory for anne arundel county executive john leopold and his legal team. but he is far from out of the woods. lowell melser addresses to explain. >> of misconduct charge was dropped, for security officers that allegedly helped him lift the campaign signs of his political opponent out of the ground. he still faces three misconduct charges as well as a fraud charge. with the state resting its case

thursday, friday morning defense attorneys for john leopold presented motions to dismiss all the charges in the case, arguing the misconduct charges were "vague" and none of the activities or behaviors exhibited by leopold were illegal keeping the state countered by saying that he knew that his actions were illegal, such as telling security officers to remove campaign signs. judge sweeney did decide to remove the misconduct charges that had to do with the theft of his opponent's campaign sign. he said there was not enough evidence to show the law was actually broke ken. -- was actually broken. one man says he feels the state is having problems with the case. >> they do not seem to be

aggressive enough. in more impressed with, i hate to say it, his defense attorneys. they are not being aggressive enough. the questioning is not being aggressive enough. basically i am just not impressed with them. >> friday afternoon the defense continued with its case, calling its first witness, leopold's orthopedic surgeon, who explained about the spinal issues giving him such as back pain. he argued that he needed a catheter with a urine bag attached and thought it was a good idea of fort security to a system because he would definitely need help. the proceedings ended early because of the snow. the state prosecutor told reporters he respects the judge's decision in the case and is happy to move forward. the case continues monday morning with more defense witnesses.

i am lowell melser, wbal tv-11 news. >> thank you. more late breaking news out of baltimore county. fire crews are working to contain a two-alarm blaze. you are looking at a video from one of our viewers. no reports of injuries right now, and we will continue to monitor this story for new developments. also new at this hour, state police that two men behind bars in connection with the murder of a teenage girl in baltimore. the latest suspect is 18-year- old tevin hines. already charged in the case, at 18-year-old dorrien allen. police say they shot michelle adrian to death during a robbery turned violent. the men also faced charges of attempted murder because another man was shot during the incident. that man is expected to recover. >> just nine days until super

bowl xlvii in new orleans. >> and one of the last time as the team will practice. we talked with the general manager. find out how he shaped the roster to handle all the injuries this season. >> and a development in a high- profile d.c. murder. the testimony that could reopen the case. >> i am rob roblin. is this weather not just perfect? a live report, coming up.

>> it is polar bear plunge weekend and mother nature has done a great job of bringing polar bear temperatures to this year's event. >> 11 news is proud to be one media sponsor of this event which raises millions of dollars for special olympics maryland. rob roblin is there tonight. i hope you are staying warm, robbie.

>> i am very warm compared to those who will be taking -- will be coming out of the water and a few seconds. they are getting ready for their plunge. a big supporter of the maryland state police. the super plungers. 50 super plungers this year are going into the water. if you think it is cold outside just walking around in the snow, try going into the water of the chesapeake bay. you can see all these people are doing this, and they are doing it for special olympics. it was the young folks time to go into the water earlier today. it is the school challenge. and jennifer franciotti -- tim tooten was there. >> what you are seeing is the

moment of peace before the plunge. but how do you get ready mentally for that big moment? for four straight years, the team from maryland i schools made their way to the banks of the chilly chesapeake. they were anxious and eager to take the plunge. and most showed up with a game plan. >> got to go. not really prepared. just sort of going in and getting what. >> i-team ready to go. >> just go right in and do not think about how cold it is. >> the final instructions, the final waiting, and the final chants. >> let's go! >> than the moment of truth. -- then the moment of truth. [cheering] >> what do you think? >> it is cold.

i cannot feel my legs at all. >> it is called. >> whoo! >> my god! >> i cannot feel my legs. >> it was for a great cause. >> yes, it was for a great cause. >> in many ways this was a dress rehearsal, because next friday thousands of kids are coming back from maryland county to take the plunge. tim tooten, wbal tv-11 news. >> now, what do you do after a plunge? what do these ladies do? there you go. having fun. they are going in again. i will tell you what. you talk about some brave but folks. you see those gentlemen in the

water right now? they are plunging not only every hour. they are plunging two times every our. that will be 48 times. these are the super plunges. we will tell you more about it and who they are doing it for. and of course, the main man, one of the men who started all of the super plunging 10 years ago. we are here. the weather is fantastic, tom tasselmyer. you should be out here with us. >> perfect. perfect weather, huh? >> if you are a polar bear. >> there you go. it is polar, if not perfect air in our region right now. i guess you could say it is perfect for the polar bear plunge. it is not only snowing here and at sandy point, it is snowing at ocean city. let's look at the boardwalk. coming down on the beach as well. statewide, we are dealing with

this fast-moving weather system. let's take the temperatures. air temperature, beach whether -- winds of the southwest with a wind chill of 9. water temperature -- 36 degrees. the water temperature -- 34. just called. perfect for these guys, these polar bears, that is for sure. it will stay that way tonight. snow coming in from the west. this is 6:30 in the morning, just coming in from the mountains. but look when it will end. this is already the back edge of the snow. a couple hours, and we will be done with it. winter weather advisory all across central and southern maryland. the mountains already have 4 to 5 inches of snow. great conditions for skiers. drudge no. that produces the powdery nature

to it. -- dry snow. temperatures in the teens all the way back to the mountains. here, a fresh coating of snow, a fresh busting in spots. again, it looks like the heavy stuff is staying to the south of us. you add that to the ground, and these guys will clear by morning. that will bring some really cold stuff. i would not be surprised if we clear quick enough, we could see some single digit lows tonight. the area of low pressure kicking up across the west virginia mountains now. it will be offshore by morning. writes for the weekend, we stay cold. -- right through the weekend, we stay cold. denver -- that will surge into our area next week. the problem is that warm front on monday morning might produce a winter remix.

again, only a couple hours we can content -- we have to contend with the slippery conditions throughout the region. saturday and sunday, looking good, but the temperatures they called. that warm front produces a mixed bag of snow, sleet, maybe brain. that will be a problem monday morning. 29 to 34 tomorrow. partly cloudy, breezy. 30 at 10:00 a.m., freezing at 32 at 1:00 p.m. there will be sunshine around tomorrow, but the wind chill will stay around 20. if you are headed to the mountains to do some skiing, it will be called. stays in the 20's. bundle up. on the coast around ocean city, high temperatures in the 30's. may be getting above freezing this week and. are seven-day forecast the see temperatures climb in the

morning. showers and rain on tuesday and wednesday. then it turns colder by the end of next week. >> all right, tom. thank you very much. imagine losing one day's wages per week for the next six months. >> painful, but it is a real possibility for pentagon employees. >> the ravens road to new orleans. coming up, we will hear

>> perhaps one of the least heralded but most important parts of the reagan organization is one of its most tenured. -- the ravens organization is one of its most tenured. >> ozzie newsome. 11 news pete has the story. hi, pete.

>> ozzie newsome is an unassuming. he likes to take long walks or on days like this, he will take the treadmill. if there is a better manager and in the nfl, i have not seen him. ozzie newsome would go into the nfl hall of fame as a manager if he were not already there as a player. if there is one thing we can point to form why the reagan sir but the regular season, it is -- the raven survive the regular season, it is ozzie. >> we knew don could play. it was just a matter of him getting on the field. >> while paul kruger took time to reach his potential, the potential was there. >> when i am around come paul

does a lot of the extra stuff on in some. >> he gives banks he had some many talents to, on as replacements -- he gives thanks he had so many talents to turn to as replacements. >> there were so many guys. they all learned from the guys at the beginning that did not accept them just sitting there in a chair. >> ray lewis will go down as his greatest draft pick, but without his backup, he would have ended in week 6. if you see him, do not forget to say thanks to ozzie. the ravens have their general manager in waiting in the form of eric dacosta, but ozzie is not planning on retiring anytime

soon. tv 11 sports. >> thank you, pete and thanks, ozzie. these members of the air national guard are showing their pride oversees. guys, we salute you. you can submit your photos to u local on wbaltv.com and our mobile app. >> very cute. an appeals court revisits the case of casey anthony. >> when we cover the nation. >> we're getting all purple for the ravens. that is coming up. >> and we continue to monitor messy conditions all over the region. we will live update

>> you are watching wbal-tv 11 news. live, local, late breaking. this is 11 news at 5:00 p.m. with stan stovall and donna hamilton, your insta-weather plus forecast with chief meteorologist tom tasselmyer and skycam 11, covering breaking news where you live. -- sky team 11, covering breaking news where you live. >> right now at 5:30, it is turning into a slippery commute across the baltimore area. >> this is our camera at the baltimore national by keeping >> no has been falling for the better part of three hours now. >> we are expected to have a couple inches by the time everything is set and done

tonight. george is monitoring the messy roads in north baltimore. >> but we want to check in once again with chief meteorologist tom tasselmyer on the very latest. tom? >> northwest baltimore will have about an inch of snow. powdery, dry snow. temperatures are very cold. it is now going anywhere anytime soon. everything that is falling is powdery accumulation across the region. uc teens and 20's for low temperatures. -- you see teens and 20's for low temperatures. but the good news is it is rapidly moving out of their. while the timing is not perfect during a friday evening rush hour, we should be able to get this out of here and then just deal with the cold slippery conditions. for more, let's go to george. george, the snow should taper

off soon, but the damage is already done to the commute, isn't it? >> it is cold. the major intersections -- [indiscernible] northbound, those roads have congestions. officials -- right now they are wet. if you are headed west through the frederick area -- >> we apologize for the audio issues there. you can see the updated school and business closings on our

mobile app. can also get them sent to your phone and e-mail. just go to wbaltv.com and click on weather. >> prosecutors will call on a surprise witness who saw the body of 16-year-old phylicia barnes on the day that she disappeared. the witnesses described as an acquaintance of johnson. the defense says that he is just a jailhouse snitch, pointing out that he waited more than a year to come forward. >> today a judge dismissed one count of misconduct in the case up john leopold, saying there was not enough evidence. the defense also called its first witness, leopold's own orthopedic surgeon. saying that he thought it was a

good idea for the security team to assist him with the urine bag because he would need help. >> it is a combination of what lawmakers have to do and what they have to stop doing. we're in washington with the latest on the changes in the works for the gop. >> thank you. good evening. activists in the republican party still believe their message has the most appeal, but they recognize there has been a lot wrong with their messenger's. >> meeting in charlotte, the republicans reelected the party chairman rents previous -- reince preibus. the republican party is in trouble. republicans were forced to back down on the debt ceiling. president obama layout a liberal agenda for his seconterm. the gop is out of favor with the

young, minorities, and women, and not just at the ballot box. 49% of the nation now sees the republican party negatively. only 26% see it positively, democrats doing far better with a net positive. >> republicans talk policy and the democrats talk people. >> we have got to stop being the stupid party. >> the louisiana gov. bobby children -- bobby gentle -- bobby jindal. >> it is no secret that we have republicans damaged the party with offensive and bizarre comments. we have had enough of that. >> virginia legislature wanted to change the electoral maps. >> says forget that keeping the gop will recover.

>> we have a lot of work to do. we have cleaning up to do. we have making up to do. we have stretching out to do to bring people in. >> today could be a start. >> unlikely plan will be to emphasize attacks -- a likely plan will be to emphasize the tax plan. wbal tv-11 news. >> thousands of anti-abortion activists marched on the steps of the supreme court. >> what they are demanding after the landmark roe versus wade decision keeping what some decision keeping what some charges

>> covering the nation tonight, it has been 12 years since the disappearance upper intern chandra levy. there may be key testimony from a secret witness. this could possibly reopening mystery. it was back in 2010 when an illegal immigrant was convicted

in her murder. that was after her relationship with a california congressman pegged him as a prime suspect. prosecutors admitted they had no evidence directly linking the immigrant tumor death. -- to her death. an appeals court throws out charges against casey anthony. today the court decided to throw out two of her convictions of lying to police. two charges were upheld, but anthony made appeal goes to the florida supreme court. you will remember she was tried and acquitted in the 2008 death of her two-year-old daughter. >> if congress does not find a way to avoid mandatory pay cuts, the pentagon will have furloughed employees. they would lose one paper week

through the end of the budget year, which ends in september. the pentagon has about 8000 civilian employees. the furloughs would save about $5 billion. protesters marched on the steps of the supreme court, calling for a 40-year decision to be overturned. pro-life activists held their annual march for life. religious leaders also participated. >> soon, you could be paying double for a popular it salad and sandwich standby. >> we are talking tomatoes. >> i am rob roblin. a live report, coming up. >> in many areas, the snow keeps coming dow

>> good afternoon. here's a look at what we are working on for 11 years at 6:00. continue to track winter weather with live team coverage. why this session could have you paying more at the pump.

>> jumping into the icy chesapeake bay in january is shocking. believe me. i have done it three times now. >> and this will be the most bone chilling polar bear plunge possibly ever.

rob roblin is live at the state park. robbie, we have been watching the video. how are they going to do this all night? >> it gets difficult about this time of the evening when you do the super plunge. the sun goes down. there is no heat at all from the sun. if it's even colder. 3:00 in the morning, it gets even more difficult. of a tomorrow morning, it's a little bit easier and then you're going for about 08. here come the super plungers. 50 super plungers this year, plunging for special olympics. >> it is cold. it is cold. you can see it is snowing. but these folks, along with all the people plunging tomorrow are responsible for raising money for special olympics. there you go. getting ready to go into the

water. it is cold out here. i have seen a lot of them over the years. excuse me. this is one of the toughest ones. moving ever so slowly in the water. you cannot imagine how cold that water is when you walk in. and then when you go under, you do -- oh, my goodness. it is tough. once again, these are the super plungers. they started at 10:00 this morning. they will be plunging on ninth come at every hour for 24 hours here at sandy point -- plunging once every hour for 24 hours here at sandy point state park. you are probably in your suit, feeling real good. you should not feel bad now. you should not feel guilty. but please, tom tasselmyer, is there any warm weather in the forecast for these poor folks?

>> unfortunately, it will be cold tonight. and when the sun comes out, it will not warm up much tomorrow. if you notice, they will picking up some of the more substantial snow in our area as well. i suppose the only saving grace is we had a relatively mild winter up until now, and there is very little ice on the bay. that is not a problem. the air is cold. the wind chill is 9. the water temperature is around 35, 36 degrees, just above freezing. oh, boy, it is tough for sure. i guess, as rob is mentioning, the good thing is we do have some sunshine tomorrow, but the wind will be a factor, coming in at 50 miles per hour, pushing the wind chills down for most of the dead. windchill of 20 at 3:00

tomorrow afternoon. be snow will not be with us for much longer. already tapering off in north baltimore to light snow and clarice. for the next hour or two, most areas around baltimore will be done. i would not be surprised if this winter weather advisory is cancelled early tonight. the snows will continue in the mountains of. western maryland, they will continue to get snow showers through most of the weekend as a matter of fact. at least to most of tomorrow. keep that in mind. 20 degrees colder than the average for this time of year. the record high is 75. the record low 0. 25 cells are. annapolis, 20 degrees. 18 acres down. -- 18 hagerstown. the light shade of blue, that is an inch or so, dusting up to 1 inch. the darker blue, we will get to, maybe 3 inches of snowfall.

it is about the timing that is complicating the things during the friday evening rush-hour. it will be bitter cold out. 18 around the shore of the bay. unlike northwest ries. -- a light northwest breeze. high pressure from the north and west keeps temperatures below normal. next week, mild air in the plane's. we will make a push for the mid- atlantic. the problem is, it may generate another push of mixed precipitation. here comes that warm front early monday morning. could complicate the monday morning rush-hour with snow, sleet, or freezing rain to get next week off to start. tomorrow -- highs are 29 to 34. at least we will have sunshine. r insta-weather plus seven-day forecast for the area calls for temperatures to warm, but not until next week.

we can highs in the 30's 40's, and a mix on monday. it will be breezy and turning colder by the end of next week. >> alright, thank you, tom. if you know someone taking a plunge, you can text good luck court stay safe. we will show as many messages as we can saturday morning on 11 news. we began tonight's consumer alert with a look of wall street. tears at the closing bell at the span that ended the week with this longest -- cheers at the closing bell as the span that ended the week with its longest winning streak since 2004. this is the first time the s&p 500 has closed above the 1500- mark in more than six years. also, the popular maker of apple is no longer the most valuable

u.s. company in wall street terms. exxon edged out apple in value. both have a market cap around the four. -- $15 billion mark. all right, we have been through the fiscal cliff. now ready for the tomato cliff? it is reported the obama administration -- if the obama administration is a pricing accord, tomatoes could cost $15 a pound. not only does the mexican government opposed ending the deal, but they promised to retaliate. you may notice the internet connection from your smartphone has gotten slower. here is bad news. it may get even slower. the upward trend in data use will outpace network capacity for the next three years and

that means connection speeds could slow to a crawl. networks will supper digestion much as -- will suffer the ingestion, and this could have a lot to do with watching videos on mobile devices. >> that is how they are documenting their lives and sharing what they are doing. >> many industry experts say there is only so much wireless bandwidth out there and it is not going fast enough to keep up with demand. finally tonight -- let's eat. it is restaurant week 2013. it got underway this afternoon. is touted as the largest and most successful dining event in the metro area. more than 100 area restaurants are offering prix fixe menu is. the week is meant to spotlight downtown baltimore as a premier

dining destination and it is a great way for food lovers to enjoy new spots and old favorites. it is recommended that you make reservations, which you can do online. for more information, had to our website -- wbaltv.com. donna? >> boy, that looks good. maryland lawmakers are discussing transportation. the details on a proposed gas tax hike. >> ravens faber is extending to johns hopkins hospital. i will explain, next.

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>> purple fever is spreading all over town, including johns hopkins hospital. we are introduced to some special patients who were showing their purple bride. >> -- their purple pride. >> these women are going purple in honor of the ravens. this is not an ordinary run. this is an image recovery center at johnson -- johns hopkins hospital. >> we help patients as they are going through chemotherapy. usually the patient becomes very concerned about their appearance. >> they provide wigs, hair cut, and just about any spa service

he would find at a salon. they are specially trained to help patients. >> anything you need, they are there. >> and the patients could not be more surprised -- more excited about purple friday. they are proud to display their ravens bride -- ravens bride purple nails and purple hair. -- ravens pride. >> is a purple the. everybody is feeling that. wow. >> it motivates the patient. when i went up there with the purple on, everybody was like, well, that is so awesome. >> after they go purple, the patients get a picture to remember the event. the even enter a raffle to win great ravens prizes. >> i think it lets the patients

know that we understand they want to press -- participate and feel like part of the celebration that is happening for the ravens here in baltimore. >> purple fever is so contagious, they have convinced me to get purpled out. wbal tv-11 news. >> they are going all out. we are celebrating some of the youngest and cutest reagan's stance. she is a cutie. also look at lee, already to seek re rice run up the middle. and you can share your photos at u local on wbaltv.com. here's a look at what is coming up at 6:00. >> insta-weather plus, coming up. >> i am jayne miller.

prosecutors hint at a love triangle in the murder of phylicia barnes. >> notes short of ideas on how to increase transportation funding, including raising the gas tax. details of new at 6:00. you are watching wbal-tv 11 news. live, local, late breaking. this is 11 news at 6:00 p.m. >> the evening, everyone. our big story -- -- good evening, everyone. our big story, winter weather leads to traffic conditions. >> just in time for the rush- hour. let's go to tom tasselmyer. tom? >> the snow is tapering off already. this is a quick mover. these clippers, they produced the snow and then they get out of your. the slippery conditions are not going anywhere. temperatures are in the